Resources for Teachers

Teacher Resources

As digital technologies expand, obviously more information on educational topics are

accessible for learning about what interests us and impacts our students. However, no matter

how long you participate in the education field as a teacher or administrator procuring

information can be difficult. The reason for this is due to the sheer amount of new

instructional practices, new technologies, curriculum materials, and experiences that students

bring to our classroom. In this blog we attempt to provide you with a hub of resources to

access at your convenience. Provided below are websites, books, videos, and podcasts that

pertain to trauma in the classroom, how to make connections with those students, their

situations, and how to reach them emotionally and academically. Many of these resources

mention teaching persistence, not letting their situation overcome them. This is important for

teachers to have as part of their mindset for working with students. The graphic below could

be shared with colleagues at your school site:

Websites:

 

Trauma-Informed Teaching in Action: An Expert Interview 

This is an interview with Dr. Elizabeth Dutro and Alex Shevrin Venet detailing the need for

trauma informed teaching in today’s times due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The interviewees

draw on past experiences in the classroom and research into pedagogies that consider,

“difficult experiences to be honored as knowledge in schools.” (Smith, 2020). Trauma informed

teaching is defined and the framework developed by Dr. Elizabeth Dutro is briefly discussed.

Insights and recommendations are offered to school administrators in order to promote

trauma-informed learning with their teachers. There are significant strengths to this website

where the interview is posted. One being links to resources directly recommended by Dr. Dutro

and Alex Venet. Resources provided include books, guides, articles, organizations, and individuals

that are experts on this topic. Another strength is that the interviewees mention the fact

that teachers are also experiencing trauma during these times as well, and our emotional

support needs to be taken into account as well. Drawbacks to this include the interviewees

not explicitly providing models for administrators to enact in their schools for a change in

the way we view students working through their own trauma. 

 Trauma Informed School - 9 Resources for Training Teachers in Trauma

This article is from weareteachers.com, authored by Lauren Brown-West Rosenthal. She is a Senior Editor for the website who has collected nine resources for teachers and administrators to access in order to move towards becoming a trauma informed school. The resources linked to this article include links to books, toolkits, training courses, handbooks, videos, and blogs. Strengths include a wide array of resources that can be accessed, one website (at least) including new ideas and research for helping high risk children when previously used techniques aren’t working. Another website provides answers from real teachers about how to better work with students facing trauma from dealing with factors outside of school. Drawbacks to this site include the author not being an educator. However, she seems to be well-versed in what types of challenges students face. Some of the links require paid memberships to view materials that are available, or links to purchase books on Amazon without being mentioned on the website.

Dutro, E., Campano, G., & Ollett, M. (2019). The vulnerable heart of literacy: centering trauma as powerful pedagogy. Teachers College Press. 

A print version of this book is available on Amazon for $26, an e-Text is available on a Kindle for $25. This book will be extremely beneficial for teachers trying to navigate the best way to teach literacy skills to students with a background in trauma. Elizabeth Dutro is a professor of education at the University of Colorado in Boulder, specializing in the area of literacy. 

Books:

O'Drobinak, B., and Kelley, B., . (2021). Teaching, learning, and trauma: responsive practices for holding steady in turbulent times, grades 6-12. Corwin, a SAGE Company. 

• This book is available to order on Amazon for around $30, or as an eTextbook for $16. Brooke O’Drobinak works in school administration at a high-functioning site in Colorado. Beth Kelley is a psychotherapist who spent 20 years working as a school-based therapist. Information provided in this book includes information that leads to understanding and teaching learners with chronic stress, self-regulation, teacher self-care, knowing our students and building relationships, and resolving inevitable conflicts that will arise with these students. Strengths of this resource include information provided from a student perspective on the topics mentioned above. There is also a wide range of resources, one specifically including planning documents and reflection questions to identify their own strengths and growth areas. These would be beneficial for all educators. A drawback for elementary teachers is that this is geared towards secondary education teachers of teens with a trauma background. 

Rossen, E. A. (2020). Supporting and educating traumatized students: a guide for school-based professionals. Oxford University Press. 

• This book is available on Amazon for $44 or as a digital download on Kindle for $37. Dr. Eric Rossen is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist with real experience working in a public school setting. The book he has put forth includes empirical evidence supplied by experts in their designated field for the different chapters. Also included is information on specific subgroups that you find in schools and how their specific trauma may manifest in a classroom setting. Information is organized by sections:
    - Section 1:  Introduction to Trauma and Its Impact on School Functioning
    - Section 2: Potential Sources of Trauma and Implications for Classroom Instruction, and School-Based Interventions
    - Section 3: Administrative and Policy Considerations
  This is beneficial to administrators who would like to transform their schools, reading the chapter about developing staff buy-in would be helpful. Also, this is an updated version to include information related to the Covid-19 Pandemic which is timely for educators.

Room for Everyone: 10 Picture Books that…

• This is a compiled list of children’s books that encourage kindness and empathy. Representing these traits in books is instrumental in teaching children to show compassion and understanding to others. This is extremely important in creating a safe environment in the classroom. The list includes a picture of each book as well as a short description, making it easy to choose one most relevant for a classroom. It would be helpful to have a direct link to purchase each book. 

Videos:

Childhood Trauma and the Brain | UK Trauma Council

• This is an animated video illustrating the effects trauma has on a child’s life. It briefly explains how everyday experiences are interpreted differently by children who have experienced trauma. It explains to teachers, and other adults involved in a child’s life, why some challenging behaviors may occur. It does an excellent job of illustrating what living with trauma is like. It gives a few brief tips for teachers in approaching these children, but not very detailed. 

Trauma Informed Teaching | Dr. Meredith Fox | TEDxFieldstoneDriveED 

• This is a TedTalk featuring Dr. Meredith Fox, a trauma survivor. She shares her story about losing her sister and mother, and how the teachers in her life impacted her, positively and negatively.. She provides a first-hand account of what it is like living with trauma in school and how teachers can empower or hinder their future. This video is quite inspirational and provides credible explanations about how one teacher can make such a difference. She provides some general advice to teachers in approaching students who have experienced trauma, but does not go into explicit detail. 

Podcasts:

Trauma Informed Educators Podcast- Mathew Portell's stream

• This podcast features a variety of different educators experts sharing information, advice, and ideas on creating a trauma sensitive environment in the classroom. Each episode features a different speaker, providing a variety of perspectives and experience on the topic. A benefit is that this platform has created a network of information and idea sharing that is available to educators. It would be more helpful if each episode title listed the topic instead of just the speaker. 

Tea for Teaching Podcast - 131. Trauma-informed Pedagogy – tea for teaching

• This episode of the podcast is a discussion that focuses on being trauma-informed and effective practices in teaching and learning in a higher education setting. Strengths of this discussion include considering the fact that through this global pandemic, we are all going through a trauma, educators included. The speakers discuss how whether or not we want to deal with (the pandemic) our trauma, we have to. This is important for educators because we need to teach persistence to our students. Drawbacks include (for elementary and secondary educators) this being specific to higher education learners.

Closing Thoughts

These resources are in no way a replacement for true trauma response training. They are, however, a great place to start for teachers or other educators. Gathering even the most basic of tools can be monumental in creating a safe environment for students. As a teacher, getting into a mindset of understanding and empathy is the first step in creating this atmosphere. In the following blog entry, we will introduce resources for parents in supporting children who have experienced trauma.